parsley – Cooking the Books

November 21, 2020

I’m strong to the finish, cuz I eats my spinach

I hope and pray that people have a safe Thanksgiving. To will that into the world, I decided to do a slightly more complicated dish this week since hopefully most readers are not traveling or planning on feeding a large number of guests on Thursday.

However, fret ye not about the level of complication. In fact, the reason I chose this one is because I wanted to make it more simply than the New York Times recipe suggested. Plus, I love spanakopita, and have made variations of it over the years of this blog.

I was super excited to find that this spanakopita pie fit in a 9- to 10-inch skillet!

The downside, if you’ve ever worked with fresh spinach, is the sheer amount of it you need to buy to get the amount you need to fill a pie, say. So, rather than worry about that, I just bought frozen; plus, it cut down on cooking.

The other ingredient that caught my eye as troublesome in this particular fancy recipe was getting a block of feta in brine. Now, I love it when I’ve gotten it from my local Middle Eastern store; however, usually I get it when I need to use the brine as well. It’s less easy to find in my usual grocery stores, and since the brine wasn’t used, I skipped it and went for the pre-crumbled container I usually get.

Everything else was more or less standard for what I expect to be in a spanakopita, and it worked out to be quite the delight. A little skimpy on the phyllo dough, but it was a pie, not a roll; but that also made it less work.

All in all, it was worth the effort, and where else do you need to be this weekend? May as well spend it in the kitchen.

Hidden underneath this tasty flaky crust is a wonderful spinach mixture.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

8 T. unsalted butter, divided
2 medium leeks, white and green parts only, halved and sliced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
20 to 24 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
¾ c. fresh parsley leaves, chopped
½ c. fresh dill, chopped
½ c. grated Parmesan
Zest from one lemon, plus juice from the lemon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, beaten
8 oz. crumbled feta
10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

Directions

In a 9- to 10-inch skillet, melt 3 T. butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic, and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for about another 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and let cool.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the parsley, dill, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Working about 1 c. at a time, transfer the spinach mixture to a fine mesh strainer and set in the sink to press out as much liquid from the mixture as possible. Add the strained handfuls to the parsley mixture, repeating until all the spinach has been added to the large bowl. Stir to combine, and add any additional salt and pepper as desired. Stir in the beaten eggs, and then fold in the feta, trying to leave larger chunks intact.

Melt the remaining 5 T. of butter over the stove top on low or in the microwave. Meanwhile, wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel. Brush the bottom and sides of the skillet with some of the butter. Then, working quickly with 1 sheet of phyllo dough at a time, lightly brush the top of one sheet with butter, and then lay it in the skillet, butter side up, with an overhang on either side. Repeat with 7 more phyllo sheets, rotating each sheet in a different direction as you add it.

Spoon the spinach mixture into the skillet, spreading into an even layer. Starting with the top layer of phyllo dough first, lift it over the spinach mixture toward the center of the pan, and repeat with remaining overlapping dough to create a top crust.

Crinkle on top the remaining 2 pieces of phyllo dough, and brush with any remaining melted butter.

Cook over medium heat on the stovetop for about 5 minutes to crisp up the bottom crust. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until the phyllo dough is golden and filling is warmed, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Slice into wedges and enjoy!

September 26, 2020

Herby quinoa makes for quick, tasty dinner

This week’s recipe, I regret to say, sat unused for years in my binder full of recipes. I feel extra bad about that, though I have several unmade recipes ripped from magazines in the binder, because this one came hand-written from my mother.

Even in the era of the Internet where she has shared several recipes with me via email, this one came to me hand-written. I’m not even sure when I got it or why (other than that it’s tasty), or why I never made it.

However, my sweetie recently purchased quinoa for a vegetarian stuffed pepper recipe I mentioned recently, and so we had some extra sitting around, ready to be used. Enter my mom’s herby quinoa recipe.

Her recipe called to be made in a saucepan, but it was a small enough meal, enough for four servings, that it fit easily in my 9-inch Le Creuset.

It was incredibly simple, and incredibly tasty, and I feel incredibly stupid for waiting so long to make it.

While it does have bacon in it, it’s otherwise pretty healthy. Welcome after last week’s indulgence. The grain, herbs, some toasted almonds, with some bacon, and voila, a tasty weeknight meal is made.

Here’s what I did, following Mom’s recipe … though she forgot to specify the amount of broth so I had to wing that part and it took slightly longer to cook than her recipe said:

Ingredients

½ c. slivered almonds
1 t. vegetable oil
4 slices of bacon (her recipe called for two thick pieces, I had thin stuff so I doubled it), ¼ in. dice
1 small shallot, diced
1 c. quinoa, rinsed
2 c. vegetable or chicken broth
2 sage sprigs (hers called for 1, but I am a sucker for herbs)
1 T. minced chives
1 T. chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds in pie plate and toast in the oven until golden brown. Let cool.

In a 9- to 10-inch skillet, heat oil, add bacon, and cook until fat has rendered, about 2 minutes. Add the shallot and cook stirring a few times, until the shallot has softened but not browned. Add the quinoa, stock, and sage, and bring to a boil.

Cover and cook over low heat until the stock has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Discard the sage stems, fluff the quinoa with a fork. Stir in the chives, parsley, and toasted almonds. Season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!

July 31, 2020

Pizza bread!

OK, I think I’m officially on board with the bread-baking phenomenon. It just took me a little longer to get there than everyone else.

I’ve long liked the calming effects of kneading and the comforting aroma of bread rising, so I’m surprised I haven’t satisfied my soul sooner. Besides, as I have shown, I’ve long loved being a baker.

Even better, after making Serious Eats’ focaccia, I perused their other bread options and was delighted to find the double comfort of pizza and bread.

It sounded pretty easy, and because it called for a pound of pizza dough, and my measurements for my favorite dough don’t lead to exactly a pound, I just made a double batch and hoped there would be some leftover to have a homemade pizza later in the week. I was not disappointed.

With ingredients like garlic, dough, pepperoni, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes, it’s impossible for it to have turned out bad.

My only issue was pre-cooking the pepperoni with the garlic resulted in slightly crunchy pepperoni pieces in some cases after baking. It still didn’t taste bad, but I question if it’s totally necessary to pre-cook the meat, or maybe I’d just cook it for the barest minimum amount of time or on a lower setting to ensure the garlic gets cooked into the butter and crisps a little.

Still, we had no problem eating all 24 knots in just a few days.

Here’s what I did, mostly sticking to the recipe, only making my own dough:

Ingredients

2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 oz. pepperoni, cut into ¼ in. squares
Red pepper flakes, to taste
6 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 T. chopped fresh chives
¾ c. Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
Flour, for dusting
1 lb. homemade or store-bought pizza dough (I used about ⅔ of a double recipe of my favorite dough recipe here and reserved the rest for a thin-crust homemade pizza)
Pizza/Pasta sauce, for serving

Directions

Heat butter and oil in a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until butter melts. Add pepperoni and cook until it starts to crisp, about 2 minutes (see note above about doing this for slightly less time). Add pepper flakes and garlic, and cook for about an additional 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the parsley and chives, and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in ½ c. of the Parmesan. Do not wipe out the skillet.

On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half. Take one piece and roll or stretch into a rectangle about 8 in. long by 4 in. wide. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife, and cut crosswise into 12 strips. Repeat with the other half, to yield 24 total strips.

Tie each strip into a knot and transfer to the bowl with the pepperoni, etc. mixture. Use your hands to toss and fold to coat the knots in the mixture. Place the knots in the skillet in a single layer, and drizzle with more olive oil.

Cover the skillet with plastic, and set aside until doubled, about 4 hours. Or, do as I did, and refrigerate for about 12 to 16 hours.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 425 degrees, and place oven rack in the center. Remove the plastic wrap. Sprinkle on the remaining ¼ c. cheese. Place skillet in the oven and bake until golden brown and crisp, about 25 to 30 minutes. Brush on additional olive oil and enjoy with pizza sauce!

May 30, 2020May 30, 2020

All the herbs!!!

At this point, I’ve lost track of the last time I went to the grocery store and have no idea what it looks like now.

I do, however, get dispatches from my sweetie when he makes his weekly stop, as he’s good enough to be our designated shopper given my compromised immune system. And what I know now is that while many staples are still available, and we’re in no danger of food shortages, some of the things we’re used to are getting harder to come by.

We appreciate it more when we can find the fresh herbs and vegetables we want, and especially, for me, when I can get the meat I most enjoy.

This week I was ecstatic to see that my grocery list items to make this Persian frittata all made it into the cart, and into the refrigerator at home.

I have even more reason to be grateful to my sweetie because in the before times he’d already test-driven this recipe from Bon Appetit for me, so I knew I was in for a treat.

There’s a fair amount of herb chopping, but I have these wonderful herb-cutting scissors that make the whole thing go smoothly. It’s so simple and easy that I made it with a simple Middle Eastern soup so we’d be able to enjoy the frittata for breakfast after our first meal.

If you’re able to find all the veggies and (mostly the) fresh herbs, this is a real, simple treat.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

5 T. vegetable oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium leek, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped
5 large eggs
1 t. baking powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ t. ground turmeric
½ T. ground fenugreek
1 ½ c. finely chopped cilantro (about 1 bunch)
1 ½ c. finely chopped parsley (about 1 bunch)
1 ½ c. finely chopped dill (about 2 small packages)

Directions

Heat 2 T. oil in a 9- to 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and leeks, stirring occasionally until soft but not browned, 10–12 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Wipe out the skillet and set aside.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, baking powder, salt and pepper, turmeric, and fenugreek in a large bowl. Mix in the onion mixture, cilantro, dill, and parsley. The egg mixture should look thick and very green (with bits of egg poking through, depending on how finely you chop the herbs; mine could be greener).

Heat the broiler.

On the stove top, heat the remaining 3 T. of oil in the reserved skillet. Pour in the egg mixture, and spread evenly across the pan with a spatula. Cover and cook the frittata until the bottom is just set, about 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and take off the cover.

Broil for about 1 minute until the top is just set and starting to brown.

Let cool slightly, slide out onto a platter, cut into triangles, and enjoy!

April 10, 2020

This is hell, time for purgatory eggs

Another week of self-isolation, another simple recipe for the end times.

My sweetie found this simple egg dish from the Add a Pinch blog that managed to use ingredients we mostly had lying around the house. We did end up needing to get more eggs by the time I worked up the energy to make it, but so much of the dish called “eggs in purgatory” includes household staples that make this a simple and tasty breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.

As is typical when I try to poach eggs, I overcooked them. I pretend that one day I’m going to solve this but I have eaten eggs where the whites aren’t quite done and I would rather eat hard yolks for an eternity than have to eat underdone eggs ever again. So, I will live with my choices.

However, for you dear reader, know that 9 minutes is likely waayyyy too long; three minutes definitely was still too short, so somewhere in between is probably good.

Other than that (not very) helpful advice, the only other key is to use a good tomato sauce as it makes up most of the flavor. I ended up using a straight up pre-made pasta sauce, particularly arrabbiata, so if you have that on hand, it’s even better. Oh, and a good bread to serve this with makes this dish go from good to great.

Here’s what I did, slightly adapting the recipe:

Ingredients

~1 T. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 ¼ c. tomato sauce or pasta sauce (the more flavorful the better, but whatever you have on hand will work)
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
¼ t. red pepper flakes (I didn’t measure but did not use a lot as arrabbiata is already semi-spicy)
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped, divided
4 eggs
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
Toasted bread, for serving (optional)

Directions

Drizzle olive oil into a 9- or 10-inch skillet set over medium heat. Once the skillet warms, add the onions and cook about 3 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

Then, stir in the tomato/pasta sauce, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Add about half of the parsley and cook for about 5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken and flavors to meld.

Break eggs into each quarter of the skillet on top of the sauce (the recipe, of course, says to place it into a small bowl first, but I’ve never dirtied another dish *embarrassed face*). Top with the grated cheese and any additional salt and pepper, as desired.

Cover the skillet and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are done to desired level (see note above for how long-ish to do that). Remove from heat, sprinkle on the remaining parsley, and any additional cheese, and enjoy with a fancy bread!

May 26, 2018May 26, 2018

Sausage “sandwich” is a simple, tasty meal

One of the best cookbooks I got when I was first learning to cook was a collection of recipes from the sides of boxes, cans, etc. It wasn’t fancy, but that’s sort of the point of those types of recipes. Sure, it’s product-related, but it also is usually a quick, easy way of putting together something edible.

Aside from the best vanilla cream pie recipe (from Argo and Kingsford’s corn starch packaging), one of my favorite recipes from the book is a sausage and vegetable mix wrapped in puff pastry. And I knew from when I started this blog that it would be one of the recipes for my sheet pan year.

There was just one problem. I couldn’t find it anywhere in the cookbook.

I scoured all relevant sections, and nothing.

I started to think it was one of those invented memories, like “Shazaam.”

So, I did what any totally normal and sane person would do; I went through the g-d damn book page by pain-staking page to find it. And buried near the end of the sandwich section of all flippin’ places, I found the recipe I remembered from before.

While I might like to complain about the delay, it actually worked out pretty well because we had a nice hot Italian sausage from the farmer’s market from Lucky George Farm that worked perfectly with the recipe. And if I’d made it sooner, I wouldn’t have used this excellent meat.

It was every bit as good — OK, a little better, because did I mention the awesome sausage?! — as I remembered, even if I forgot one ingredient (oops!).

Here’s what I did, with said forgotten ingredient included as optional:

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm, if you wanted to know which box this originated from)
1 lb. ground sausage
1 small to medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped (optional)
1 ½ c. shredded Swiss cheese
3 T. parsley, chopped
Flour, for rolling out pastry dough

Directions

Thaw the puff pastry at least 20 minutes, and up to overnight.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees, and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large skillet, cook the sausage until browned (about 10 minutes), and then add the pepper and onion and cook until the vegetables are tender (another 5 minutes or so).

Remove from heat (pour out fat if there’s a lot but my meat was as lean as you’d want sausage), and add the tomato, if using, cheese, and parsley. Set aside.

Meanwhile, unfold and roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface until it reaches approximately 14 inches by 10 inches. Transfer the puff pastry to the lined sheet pan (I do this by rolling up the dough around my rolling pin and then unspooling).

Spread the sausage mixture along the 14 inch side, near the edge. Roll up along the long side, like you’re making a jelly roll (this is what the ingredients in the book say too!).

Pinch the dough together to seal and then curve into an oval or horseshoe shape. Cut the dough about halfway through every 1 ½ inches.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden, and enjoy!